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vipertech763, automotive technician

Category: Dodge

Satisfied Customers: 1854

Experience: gold certified, dodge viper certified

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Dodge Grand Caravan SXT: 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. Driver

Customer Question

2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. Driver side sliding door wont open manually or with power. lock mechanism seems to lock/unlock but door wont pop open so i think latch is broke. when hit power open the door activates and tries to open but seems like latch is not releasing rear part of door? Have inner Door panel off but actuator and latch sit back further in door and cant reach or unscrew latch assembly with door not opening....

afternoon......one thing that we need to keep in mind is that the drivers sliding door is designed to not open if the gas door is open. This prevents any damage to the sliding door and the gas door. This would explain why it still doesn.t seem to open. If the linkage is bent or damage with the gas door then we need to address it first to get the door open. There are 2 latches related to the sliding door.....the latch on the door and the latch on the body at the rear of the door opening. You need to try to access the linkage to the gas door latch. You will need to remove the filler door plastic housing to try to get more access. If you look closely to the fuel gas door at the where it hinges into the body......you should see a link/rod that leads to the latch on the body that you cant access at the moment due to the door being stuck shut. I would try to remove it from the gas filler door and then try pulling on it. While pulling the link towards the back of the vehicle.....have some one try to open the door. Just open the door enough to varify its free yet not enough to hit the gas door. Let me know what the results are. Attaches is a picture of the gas door.....the linkage that attaches to the door is in the #3 location of the pic.

There isn't any damage to gas door or link/rod connected to gas door. It looks as tho the rod pulls back when gas door opens and pushes to the front of van when closed to release the latch?

Customer:replied 1 year ago.

I removed the 2 torx screws from fuel door and pulled AND pushed rod while trying to open and still not opening.

Customer:replied 1 year ago.

when door is in locked position-the door does nothing-as it should-i assume. When door is unlocked and hit power door open-the door activates and tries pulling open but looks like latch is not releasing??? So i am assuming that the power cinch actuator is working but the latch is not??

The way it works is that if the gas door is open or if an issue with with linkage then the door will pop open but that's it. It will not slide open. Once it pops open....the latch cinching will close it again. I went outside and verified this on my own 2005 minivan. I noticed the linkage is a bit hard to see and the issue most likely is further inside. The ones I have seen had bent rods so that it didn't pull out fully once the gas door was opened. In the last 18 years of working at the Dodge dealership I haven't had a latch on a sliding door fail so as to not open. The gas door issue however I have seen numerous times. If you can get the rod off the gas door....I would recommend pulling it by itself. It may require a small mirror to look into the cavity where its located. Taking the filler cap off helps as well. The fact that the door tries to open rules out the latch. If the latch was stuck the door wouldn't even budge. The cinch is only used to pull the door closed.

Ok-i've tried pulling and pushing the rod after disconnecting from fuel door and nothing has changed. Can u please put question back out for additional experts to review. Thanks for your help-wish it would have turned out better...